NY endowment funds study of veterans' legal issues

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A $200,000 endowment will fund students at Long Island's Touro Law Center who are studying legal challenges facing veterans.

The program is sponsored by the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.

The endowment, announced last week, includes $90,000 for an annual scholarship awarded to a Touro student focusing on veterans' mental health, disabilities and other issues. A separate $90,000 fund will sponsor an annual summer fellowship. And $20,000 will pay for a conference on veterans' mental health as related to their legal problems.

That includes keeping veterans who commit nonviolent crimes from ending up behind bars, instead providing them with behavioral evaluations and treatment.